The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons discusses a multitude of topics in his Sunday column, but this one struck me as most pertinent given the fact that player development continues to evolve into a more systematic and borderline scientific practice in every "skater" position, but not in goal:

When the Maple Leafs selected Mikael Tellqvist with the 70th pick in the 2000 NHL Draft, not only did they believe they were getting the best young goaltender in Sweden, but they thought they were getting the most NHL-ready goalie.

They were correct about Tellqvist — he played his first game for the Leafs in the 2002-03 season, three years before the best goalie from that class would emerge. That goalie’s name: Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist was the 22nd goalie chosen that year, the third Swede taken: Rick DiPietro was the first pick of that draft and a goalie named Brent Krahn went in the first round to Calgary as well. Krahn went on to play one period of NHL hockey and it wasn’t for the Flames.

Lundqvist has grown into a generational goaltender and the lesson about scouting goaltenders is clear — nobody really knows.

Ed Belfour and Curtis Joseph were never drafted. The Flames once traded up to get Trevor Kidd when Martin Brodeur was available. Craig Billington and Daryl Reaugh were taken ahead of Patrick Roy in 1984.

And the goalie selected just before Jonathan Quick was taken by Los Angeles: Kristofer Westblom? He spent this season stopping pucks for the Brampton Beast.

If this means the Islanders represent the Battle of New York Royalty in the wake of their 5-3 victory over the Rangers at the Garden on Friday night, then so be it, for the position on our town’s hockey throne has been at least temporarily vacated by Henrik Lundqvist....

Three of the four against him — the fifth was an empty-netter — dribbled through, one on a penalty shot. For the first time in his career, Lundqvist has allowed three goals or more in seven straight starts. He is 10-15-2 with a plebian 2.77 GAA and .905 save percentage.

“I’m not doing my job,” Lundqvist told The Post. “It’s my job to clean up the mistakes and I’m not doing that.

“When we come into the room, all we can ask of one another as teammates is for everyone to work hard and for everyone to care,” he said. “I know I’m doing that, but it’s very difficult not to help my team the way I want to. It’s very disappointing.”

It took less than five months for Tuukka Rask’s eight-year, $56 million contract to look like a bargain.

On Wednesday, the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist agreed to a seven-year, $59.5 million extension. Lundqvist’s annual average value will be $8.5 million, fifth-highest in the NHL after Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Corey Perry. Lundqvist will carry an annual cap hit $1.5 million richer than Rask and Pekka Rinne, now the second-highest-paid goalies in the league.

Rask will be 34 when his deal expires. There’s a good chance his current contract will not be his last. Lundqvist will be 39 in 2021, the final season of his new deal.

This will almost certainly be Lundqvist’s last contract. Given his age, Lundqvist might not even fulfill its term. Even so, the Rangers had no choice but to fatten Lundqvist’s bank account.

Despite the talent being evenly spread across the Rangers’ roster, it all comes down to the man wearing No. 30 on his back.

This could the year that Lundqvist breaks free of comparisons to great players in each of the four major sports that never won that elusive title such as Dan Marino, Patrick Ewing, Ted Williams and Marcel Dionne.

It’s easy to forget that Lundqvist won the Gold medal for Sweden at the 2006 Turin Olympics. Lundqvist posted a 5-1 record, while only allowing 12 goals against on the pressured Olympic stage.

We all know what Lundqvist is capable of when he enters that unbeatable zone.

Tears of disappointment could turn to tears of ecstatic joy for Lundqvist when the Stanley Cup playoffs roll around in 2014. It could be the magical season when he silences his critics just like Lebron James did when he transformed his legacy as a member of the Miami Heat in 2012.

This might be the year when “King Henrik” finally earns his crown and looks back fondly at his own storybook season that mirrors that of Richter’s legend-affirming year of 1994.

Henrik Lundqvist chose his words very carefully yesterday when the subject of a potential contract extension this summer was raised at yesterday’s breakup day, so I sure won’t put any words in his mouth.

But know this: The words did not come out of the Rangers’ franchise player’s mouth that would have put owner Jim Dolan, general manager Glen Sather, coach John Tortorella and the entirety of Rangers’ Nation at ease.

Those words would have been: “Yes, my intention is to sign a long-term extension and play my entire career in New York.”

Instead the words from the goaltender, who has one year remaining on his deal and is thus eligible to sign an extension on July 5, were these:

“I’m going to talk to my agent and will see. I [have] had such a great time in New York. They’ve treated me really well and gave me the opportunity to play.

“It’s been a lot of fun. I have one more year on my contract and we’ll see.”